BearGirl - Coming to the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe

Aim

Help our small team bring a big show to the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe!

BearGirl by Emery Schaffer is a new play about grief, hiding in plain sight, community, and being uncomfortably visible in a world full of onlookers. Through the play we explore what it feels like to try to emerge from rock bottom when you’re still tied down to the trauma that brought you there in the first place. If you like plays with animal costumes, unlikely fame, and feminist rage, all written and staged by an an emerging, award-winning writer/director duo, then keep reading!

ABOUT THE SHOW 

"Bear suits, bereavement, and big scary feelings, oh my. When a young, grief-stricken widow finds herself as the victim with unwanted attention, she copes by donning an unlikely and weirdly sentimental bear costume. And so BearGirl is born: an unfeeling, thick-skinned beast of a woman who doesn’t care that you’re staring at her, because it’s not really her. As she navigates life as a new bear-woman hybrid, she also figures out how to deter unwanted interactions, inconvenient feelings, and help from willing neighbours and friends (ugh). But when the voice of her husband starts to haunt her, she’s reminded of a mistake she made in her past that she’s desperately trying to escape, and in turn, questions if moving on is even in the cards. Can BearGirl truly ever disappear into her new identity? Or will her reality make the predator into the prey? A new play about love and hate, desire and guilt, and reclaiming how to be yourself when it’s all been stripped away. A modern retelling of ‘The Bear’ by Anton Chekhov (1888)."

This project is part of the Creative Scotland Crowdmatch Scheme, meaning if you donate £20, it will be matched with £20 by Creative Scotland, effectively doubling your donation! We are so grateful for CS's support in our fundraising endeavour!

WHY SUPPORT US?
If you have an interest in:

• New writing 
• Queer and women-lead theatre
• Scottish-based emerging theatremakers 
• and The Edinburgh Fringe —

Then this is the project for you! Any amount you can give to our project helps us achieve our goal, and if that’s not accessible to you right now, a share with your community is equally as appreciated!

OUR AIM

By bringing BearGirl to the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe, we will be able to showcase our piece on a global stage (and in our home city of Edinburgh!) for its world premiere, an opportunity that we certainly do not take for granted! As two early-career artists with big dreams to progress our careers and this play, your pledges would allow us to take that next step as professional theatremakers and put the money we raise towards production costs and compensation for our collaborators. Now, for the details:

WHERE YOU COME IN 

By donating pledges to our campaign, you will be actively helping us with funds that will go towards:

• Venue costs: Edinburgh Fringe venues can cost artists upwards of 3k for a month-long run. 
• Production costs: Set, costumes, props, and technician hire Marketing and printing costs- to sell a show at the Fringe you need to compete with upwards of 4,000 other shows! Printing and publicity costs will allow us to get bums in seats!
• Artist & Collaborator fees: To make sure people are paid for their time and work on our production 
• Insurance fees & Festival Registration: the nitty gritty, small-print costs. 
• Rehearsal space/Preview Performance hire: a roof over our heads to get to work!

By supporting us, you become a member of our team and we are so grateful for your generosity.

Thanks for reading & see you in August! 

Love,

The BearGirl Team

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made